Appalachian Football Club is a National Premier Soccer League

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that began play in March 2021. As a result of the

Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer The Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer team was an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Appalachian State University. The team was a member of the Sun Belt Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Joining the Sun B ...

team being cut in May of 2020 due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, head coach Jason O'Keefe and a soccer executive Michael Hitchcock joined up with a group of local business owners to create the team. They are a member of the Southeast Conference along with

Georgia Revolution FC Georgia Revolution FC is an American soccer club based in McDonough, Georgia, United States. The team competes in the Southeast Conference of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. Th ...

, Georgia Storm, LSA Athletico Lanier, Metro Louisville FC, and North Alabama SC. The team plays its home games at the ASU Soccer Stadium.

Colors and Crest

The club colors are black and gold. The club crest was designed by award-winning designer Christopher Payne, who has developed brand identities for several football clubs in the

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and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

including

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States s ...

Flower City Union The Flower City Union is an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States, that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. Its home stadium i ...

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league system ...

, and Eastleigh Football Club. The crest draws inspiration from the

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and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

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in North Carolina and across the Appalachian

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History

Appalachian FC joined the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), considered the fourth tier of the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

and roughly equal to the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

(PDL). Appalachian FC played their first game on May 1, 2021, ending in a 1-1 draw with Metro Louisville FC. Appalachian FC finished the 2021 season third in their conference and advanced to the Southeast Conference playoffs. They finished the season with a 2-1 loss to Georgia Storm in the semifinals on July 14, 2021.

2021 Season- Southeast Conference

2021 Southeast Conference playoffs

Bold = winner
* =

after extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

, ( ) = penalty shootout score

References

External links

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Appalachian FC TwitterAppalachian FC FacebookAppalachian FC Instagram
{{North Carolina Sports 2021 establishments in North Carolina Association football clubs established in 2021 Soccer clubs in North Carolina Boone, North Carolina